1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for soft-surface remediation (SSR). SSR is any treatment to relieve, prevent or cure the adverse effects of contaminants that collect on or in soft surfaces. In particular, this invention relates to a SSR device that preferably uses forced air as the dislodging, displacing and delivery mechanism.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Indoor air is a good transport mechanism for odors and airborne contaminants, such as dust and allergens. Dust is generally characterized as including, for example, soot, pet dander, skin flakes, carpet fibers, dust mite debris, hair, and lint. Allergens are generally characterized as including, for example, dust mites, pet dander, mold/mildew, pollen, and microbes, such as germs and bacteria. Odors are generally characterized as including, for example, pet smells, body odor, or cooking smells. For energy efficiency reasons, modern homes are constructed to be as airtight as possible. This has the adverse effect of creating an environment of poor indoor air quality because it takes a significant amount of time to circulate air into and out of a room. Consequently, airborne contaminants remain circulating in the air in the home and, over time, may land on hard and soft surfaces. Hard surfaces are, for example, floors, counter tops, and the wooden, metal, or glass components of furniture. Soft surfaces are, for example, upholstery, mattresses, pillows, carpets and drapes.
Soft surfaces are typically formed by a number of strands of thread or fiber. These strands may be woven together in a specific pattern to form a thick surface or may be in the form of a thin, non-woven mesh. Most furniture upholstery is of the woven type. Contaminants become lodged in between the weave of the fibers and on the fibers themselves. In the case of odors, the molecules attach themselves on or to the fibers. The typical structure of upholstered furniture is outer woven fabric atop a thin layer of batting material, which is atop a thick inner foam that provides firmness for, for example, supporting a person's weight. The vast majority of contaminants reside within the weave of the surface fabric or on or below the surface of the batting material of the upholstered item. The surface of the outer woven fabric becomes a collection area for crumbs, hair, dust, lint, and stains. In particular, hair, dust, lint, and dust mite debris become lodged between the surface fabric weave. The batting material becomes a repository for hair, dust mites, dust mite debris, and mold/mildew spores. Mold/mildew spores, bacteria, and germs are found on the surface of the inner foam.
Technical challenges exist with regard to soft surface remediation (SSR). SSR preferably involves a process supported by electrostatics, mechanics, air, acoustics, chemistry and/or other technologies to dislodge, displace and dispose of contaminants from soft surfaces and, optionally, to treat those same surfaces in at least two different ways. As such, there are preferably five components of soft-surface remediation: (1) dislodging, which is the act of freeing dust, dirt, hair, etc., from, near, or within the surface, (2) displacing, which is the act of moving dust, dirt, hair, etc., to a containment mechanism after it has been dislodged, (3) disposing, which is the act of capturing the contaminants via a containment mechanism, (4) delivery, which is the act of delivering a chemical or other benefit to the surface, e.g., disinfecting, or applying a treatment to control dust mites, bacteria, mold, etc. or, alternatively, to remove odors or otherwise improve the scent or perceived “freshness” of the soft surface, and (5) defending, which is the act of applying a treatment to protect the soft surface from future contaminants.
A vacuum cleaner is a well-known household item used for cleaning. A typical vacuum cleaner consists of a suction fan driven by a motor and a suction nozzle with a rotating brush that has a beating effect (for dislodging) on the surface to be cleaned, such as a carpet. Vacuum cleaners exist in various forms, such as a canister type or upright type of design. Both types of vacuum cleaners have considerable weight and are, therefore, cumbersome to use. Additionally, typical canister or upright vacuum cleaners are corded, which limits their easy accessibility to some areas of the home. Standard vacuum cleaners are too cumbersome for use on soft surfaces, such as furniture upholstery, mattresses, and drapes. And, the mechanical dislodging mechanism of standard vacuum cleaners may be destructive to the fabric itself.
Alternatively, handheld portable vacuum cleaners exist in the market today, such as the DustBuster® handheld vacuum manufactured by Black & Decker (Towson, Md.). However, handheld portable vacuum cleaners generally do not include a dislodging mechanism rather they use vacuum power only. Consequently, handheld portable vacuum cleaners are not powerful enough to clean to any sufficient depth and, thus, only the surface is cleaned. They may not have adequate power to get at contaminants which are embedded within the weave or fibers. In particular, handheld portable vacuum cleaners are not effective in removing hair, as hair is difficult to remove because of the static cling to fabrics and the entanglement into the weave of the fabric itself. Additionally, handheld portable vacuum cleaners generally have a small opening, so the user must operate the device slowly and with many passes over the surface to be cleaned, in order for it to work effectively.
In some cases, a chemical or other material may be desired for odor removal, freshening, disinfecting, assisting in the removal of contaminants from a soft surface or preventing future contaminants. However, it is difficult to introduce chemistry to the surface to be cleaned by use of a standard vacuum cleaner or a handheld portable vacuum cleaner as neither includes a chemical delivery system. The consumer typically must, therefore, resort to a separate device for applying a chemical, which means that the consumer is spending additional time performing separate freshening, disinfecting, cleaning and preventing operations.
As a preventative measure, frequent touchup cleaning is beneficial to soft surfaces for delaying more involved and destructive deep-cleaning events. Generally, upholstery does not get as dirty when frequent touchups are performed, as compared with relying on occasional deep cleaning. However, consumers tend not to do touchup cleaning, because existing soft-surface touchup cleaning approaches are not very effective or convenient. Deep cleaning is effective, but very laborious and requires powerful tools, chemistry, and energy. Furthermore, the more effective the deep-cleaning event, the more damaging it is potentially to the soft surface.
What is therefore needed is an easy-to-use, convenient mechanism for performing touchup cleaning that encourages frequent use and, thus, minimizes the need for deep-cleaning events. What is also needed is a more effective and efficient way to introduce chemistry onto a soft surface by use of a low-powered, lightweight, forced air SSR device and, therefore, reduce the overall time for performing cleaning, freshening, and disinfecting operations. What is additionally needed is a forced air SSR device that has a large pickup area in order to reduce the cleaning time. What is further needed is a forced air SSR device that has a dislodging mechanism for effectively performing soft-surface remediation but in a non-destructive manner. What is further needed is a method to trap contaminants from the item being cleaned which allows for easy cleaning or disposal to remove the contaminants from the system and the users environment.
The disclosures of all of the below-referenced prior United States patents, and applications, in their entireties are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application for purposes including, but not limited to, indicating the background of the present invention and illustrating the state of the art.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20040172769, “Method and apparatus for cleaning fabrics, floor coverings, and bare floor surfaces utilizing a soil transfer cleaning medium,” to Giddings et. al. describes an apparatus and method for cleaning fabrics, floor coverings, and bare floor surfaces utilizing a soil transfer cleaning medium. A method of mechanically removing soil from a surface intended to be cleaned includes the steps of successively and repeatedly: wetting a portion of a cleaning medium with a cleaning liquid; extracting any soil and at least some of the cleaning liquid from the previously wetted portion of the cleaning medium; and wiping the surface intended to be cleaned with the portion of the cleaning medium so as to transfer soil from the surface intended to be cleaned to the cleaning medium. Portable and vehicle-based devices may be utilized to practice the method of cleaning.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20020104184, “Portable vacuum cleaning apparatus,” to Rogers et. al. describes a portable vacuum cleaning apparatus intended to be carried either on a single shoulder or worn backpack style, wherein the vacuum cleaner has an extensible tube and nozzle arrangement that may be held substantially fully enclosed in the vacuum cleaner case, wherein the hose or wand may be collapsed when not in use to prevent entanglement, or may be incrementally extended and secured in a desired position for use. The invention also includes a suspension arrangement for flexibly suspending the internal components of the vacuum and for providing a moment to counteract the force and movement of the wand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,333, “Adjustable pitch impeller,” to Day describes an impeller that has a plurality of rotating passageways which can be defined between adjacent blades, the blades having a curved root portion and able to pivot across a part spherical hub to maintain a fine line contact. The passageways have a convergence to improve the efficiency of the impeller. The hub can be split into two relatively rotating portions, with the blades attached to each portion to provide an efficient means to vary the pitch of the blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,306, “Impeller,” to Day describes a pressure boost impeller configured for compressing fluids, such as gases and liquids. Such impeller has a front intake area and a rear discharge area, and a hub containing the rotational axis of the impeller. Several blades extend about the hub, with some of the blades being in an overlapping relationship to define a passageway between adjacent blades. The passageway has an inlet communicating with the front intake area and an outlet communicating with the rear discharge area. The inlet is greater in area than the outlet, thus defining a step down in volume of fluid passing through the passageway.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,953, “Vacuum cleaner,” to Castwall, et. al. describes vacuum cleaner including a unit, comprising an electric motor and an associated suction fan, and a suction nozzle connected to the inlet side of the unit via a dust separating device, either directly or via a connectable rigid conduit. The vacuum cleaner comprises a handheld unit which when not in use is arranged to be positioned on a stationary storage unit, said handheld unit incorporating the said unit and the dust separating device and being provided with a coupling means for connecting of the rigid conduit. For power supply purposes, by means of an extensible flex, the handheld unit is connected to the storage unit which via an additional flex is connectable to a mains outlet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,122, “Corded handheld vacuum cleaner,” to Burkhardt, et. al. describes a handheld vacuum cleaner that has a motor mounted with the rotational axis of its shaft parallel to the rotational axis of the rotating brush. The vacuum cleaner motor has an end bell, which is attached to the motor stator, and which holds a motor shaft bearing. The end bell is secured to the vacuum housing with an elastomeric mounting ring to dampen motor vibrations. The need for most motor mounting hardware is eliminated, because the housing supports the motor stator directly. The intake orifice of the vacuum is shaped to lie in two distinct planes, so that flat cleaning surfaces do not obstruct the orifice. The shape of the intake also allows one to clean immediately adjacent to a vertical wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,618, “Air Movement Apparatus” to Day discloses an air movement apparatus that includes a curved, toroidal shaped body having a central passageway and an outer rim. The apparatus further includes an air acceleration means such as a bladed fan having a hub and a number of overlapping blades. The fan also has a shaft driven by a motor. The upper portion of the central passageway is partially closed by a first barrier member. Specifically, the peripheral edge of the first barrier member is paced inwardly from the outer wall of the body to define an annular blowing slot which forms the air outlet. The first barrier member is slidably attached by to float above the body in a manner that increases or decreases the size of the annular slot depending on the volume and velocity of air passing therethrough. Movement of air about the curved body creates turbulence such as vortices having a lower pressure than ambient air. The vortices roll around the curved body such that a portion of the air to be ejected out, and a remaining portion of the air to be re-circulated into the central passageway. A heating element is positioned to heat the air as it passes through the passageway.
Application No. WO 00/19881, “An Apparatus for Picking Up and Collecting Particulate Material” to Day discloses an apparatus to separate a particle containing fluid such as dust laden air. The apparatus uses a Coanda blowing slot to entrap particles into a recirculating fluid stream, and strips the particles out of the fluid stream in a separation chamber preferably using a vortex system. The apparatus can be a zero emission apparatus making it suitable in areas where conventional vacuum cleaners are inappropriate.
U.S. Patent No. 6,687,951, “Toroidal Vortex Bagless Vacuum Cleaner” to Illingworth, et. al. builds on the technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No 6,595,753, “Vortex Attractor” to Illingworth, et. al. The disclosed vortex attractor is used alone or in conjunction with mechanical or electronic devices to act upon a fluid to create a vortex flow in a closed circulating manner such that there is no separate fluid intake or exhaust. An impeller is conFig.d to draw a fluid tangentially in an upward direction that resembles a spiral, with a loop that travels through the center of the spiral to the region above an inlet to the impeller. The vortex attractor creates a low-pressure area that extends from the impeller toward an object to be attracted. The vortex attractor is used in the '951 patent to provide a toroidal vortex bagless vacuum cleaner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,997, “Filter and Process for Making a Filter for Dispersing Ingredients into Effluent” to Riley et al. discloses a filter applied with differential levels of active ingredients (e.g., deodorant, perfume, etc.) that can be employed in disposable vacuum cleaner bags. As air passes through the filter, the filter disperses the active ingredients into the effluent air. The active ingredients are distributed unevenly in the filter substrate in a pattern determined by the changing flow pattern of the air through the substrate as particulate matter accumulates against the filter.
Other patents are
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,540, “Soft surface cleaning composition and method with hydrogen peroxide” to Leifheit, et. al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,504, “Methods for using a fabric wipe” to Sramek, et. al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,597, “Aqueous alkaline soft surface cleaning compositions comprising tertiary alkyl Hydroperoxides” to Rees;
U.S. Pat. 4,597,124, “Method and apparatus for cleaning upholstery” to Williams, et. al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,204, “Article for cleaning surfaces” to Wise; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,696,395, “Perfumed liquid household cleaning fabric treatment and deodorizing compositions packaged in polyethylene bottles modified to preserve perfume integrity” to Woo, et. al.